Your Dad was the master of logistics.  He would plan endlessly for vacations, and coordinate everything that was needed down to the finest level of detail.  He would choose the time and place to go, make all the reservations, and coordinate with family or friends to go with us.  I always consider packing a chore, and with your Dad, it seemed even more overwhelming a task.  He could not take a trip without creating endless lists of what we needed to bring.  I, on the other hand, am one of those last minute packers.  I actually prefer driving over flying so I can just keep packing the car until it’s full.  Your Dad would do the same, but would have an ever-growing list to make sure we did not forget anything.

Our first trip after having Sam, we realized we needed  a van to carry everything.  It literally seemed like he took the whole house with him.  There was the stroller, the pack-n-play, toys, bouncy seat, diaper bag, and he even brought the high chair too.  I mean who does that?  And by the time we had Joelle, and then you Dane, the van was not big enough, so we had to get a car top carrier too.

He had a very systematic method for packing, in keeping with his engineering background.  He knew exactly how much and how to pack it all in.  The gear bags went into the car top carrier, and everything else on the bottom that we needed to easily get to throughout the trip.  He always packed the car the evening before our journey, and allotted at least an hour for doing so.  Sometimes he even got help from a neighbor to get the car top carrier arranged on the car.   A trip to the beach took endless weeks of preparation.  I remember one beach trip to Sandbridge for an extended weekend with the Holleman’s and Joanne and her son Joey.  We were only planning to be there from Friday – Monday but your Dad packed our entire Brio train set to keep Joey entertained.  Who does that?  I mean the entire set of Brio weighs like 60 lbs. and takes up a lot of room.  But your Dad always thought of something that would enhance the trip for any children that would be present, and would go out of his way to think of something special to bring for someone else.  And, no trip to the beach was complete without the legendary Jelly Bellies from Costco.

I would freak out to and from such vacation trips, and usually get overwhelmed.  But your Dad would have so much organized, I really did not need to think or do much, other than pack your bags.  He had the list of everything else we needed, and then each day was planned down to the hour.  I miss this systematic organization.  As you know, I have never been able to keep things that organized, and am known for losing (or misplacing things).   And, unfortunately, we have not taken nearly enough family vacations since losing your Dad.  I miss that so much!